Murder On The Hogwarts Express
by Deutzy
Summary: ‘MURDER ON THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS’ screams the headline. When a seemingly innocent student is found dead on the train, Inspector Semaphore is put on the case to try and solve the mystery... Please R/R!
1. The First Murder

Murder On The Hogwarts Express

"Love quickens all the senses – except common sense"

With one last look at the Dursleys, Harry stepped through the barrier to Platform 9¾ to go to Hogwarts for his 5th year. Hermione and Ron were already on them platform, along with Fred, George and Ginny Weasley. Mrs Weasley was also there fussing over her children. Eventually she left them, and they all got on the train. 

They found an empty compartment and shoved their luggage under the chairs before sitting down and beginning to chat about their summer holidays. 

Just as the train began to move, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle came wandering into the compartment. A black cat was walking at their feet, and was constantly weaving in and out of their legs. 

'Can't you keep this new cat of yours under control, Crabbe?' Malfoy asked irritably. Crabbe laughed stupidly and picked up the cat. 'Oh, hello.' Draco said to Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys, pretending that he had only just noticed them. 

'Hi.' They all mumbled. 

'And how did you spend your summer holidays?' Draco continued. 'Actually, let me guess. You Weasleys were probably wandering the streets of London, looking for any loose money that had been dropped so you could buy your things for this year. Granger, you must have been reading everything under the sun so you can be sickeningly clever again this year, and Potter, you were probably trying to do a great new heroic act so you can be even more famous…. AH!' 

Draco had been hit by six different spells at once. Loads of large, angry boils had broken out on his face, and his skin was turning a strange shade of green. 

'Oh, you're dead! All of you, you're _dead!' _Draco shouted before running from the compartment, Crabbe and Goyle following him. 

*** 

'AAAHHHH!' A scream echoed through the whole of the Hogwarts Express. Harry, Ron, Fred and George came running from the boys' toilets to where Ginny was standing, frozen, in the doorway of their compartment.

Ginny had come back from the food trolley to find Hermione lying on the floor with a pool of blood around her head and a deep, bleeding wound in her chest.

'Oh my God, get a prefect!' Fred said.

'No, get the head boy and girl!' Harry said. Ron ran off up the train to the prefects and head students' carriage. The others went into the compartment and knelt at Hermione's side. 

'She's… she's dead!' Ginny cried. 

George checked for Hermione's pulse, but couldn't find one. 'Ginny's right!' He said, shock and sadness in his voice. 

Ron came running back into the carriage; followed by the new Hogwarts head boy and girl. They introduced themselves as Lisa and Ralph, before Ralph asked, 'Is she… dead?' George nodded. 

'We're nearly at Hogwarts.' Lisa said. 'Has anyone in here got an owl?' Harry nodded, and released Hedwig from her cage. Fred pulled a roll of parchment from his trunk and handed it to Lisa, who took a quill and ink from her pocket, and scribbled a note to Dumbledore explaining the situation. She gave the note to Harry, who gave it to Hedwig and opened the window so she could fly off. 

By now, several of the younger, more inquisitive students had appeared in the doorway. Ralph quickly ushered them away and closed the door. Fred and George were trying to comfort Ginny, who was crying hysterically. Tears were also running down Harry and Ron's faces. 'This is Malfoy's doing.' Ron said. 'He said we were dead.' 

'But Hermione would have been prepared for that – whoever did this must have taken her by surprise, otherwise she would have got out of the compartment.' Harry reasoned.

'Any way, Draco's all talk. I bet he wouldn't have the bottle to actually do anything to us. Well, nothing more than put some spell or curse on us. He wouldn't actually try and kill anyone, would he?' George said. 

'I don't know.' Harry said, just as there was a loud pop in the compartment and Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George found themselves face to face with Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape. 

All three of the teachers looked rather pale and frightened. 'What happened?' Dumbledore asked. Harry explained how they had all left the compartment, and had left Hermione on her own. They returned to find her dead. 

'If you don't mind me asking,' Ron said. 'How did you manage to apparate? I didn't think you could from the Hogwarts grounds… that's what Hermione told us.' 

'You can't. We went out the gates first.' McGonagall said, sounding as if this was of no importance whatsoever, which it wasn't. 

'The parents will have to be informed.' Dumbledore said. 'In all my time at Hogwarts, this is the worst thing that has happened. Miss Granger was a very kind, bright student.' McGonagall nodded in agreement, but Snape remained still and silent. 


	2. Inspector Semaphore

When the Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade Station, Dumbledore asked Harry for his Invisibility Cloak. Harry gave it to Dumbledore, who used it to cover Hermione, who had been placed on a stretcher that Dumbledore had created with a flick of his wand. 'We don't want anyone to panic.' He said, and walked off onto the platform, the invisible stretcher hovering beside him. 

'Come with us.' McGonagall said, and Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George quietly followed the three teachers to the carriages. 

*** 

Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George sat quietly at the Gryffindor table at the beginning of term feast, all trying to come to terms with the fact that one of their best friends had died. The atmosphere in the Great Hall didn't seem to be as cheery as usual. The news of an attack on the train had been heard by most of the students, but the story had been altered as it had been passed on, and very few people actually realised there had been a death. 

Dumbledore stood up, and called for silence, even though the room was nearly silent already. 'As most of you know, a student was attacked on the Hogwarts Express. Now it is my duty to inform you that the student, Miss Hermione Granger, was killed in this incident. No one knows who did this, but let me assure you, we will find the murderer. I have been talking to Cornelius Fudge, the minister for magic, and several representatives from the Department of Mysteries will be arriving at the school tomorrow morning. It will be their job to find the murderer. If you have any information, we beg you to talk to them.'

*** 

Harry was sitting by one of the windows of the Gryffindor common room the next morning, not feeling like going to breakfast. With all of yesterday's action, it hadn't really hit him that Hermione was dead. Now it was beginning to sink in, and he was grieving. Ron was in a similar state, and had refused to leave their dormitory. 

Harry was staring out of the window, thinking of all the things he and Hermione had been through together – going after the Philosopher's Stone in their first year, trying to find Slytherin's heir in their second year, trying to save Sirius Black from the Dementors in their third year, and he remembered all the help and support she had given him in the Tri-wizard Tournament last year. 

As Harry stared out the window, he suddenly realised that there were three people coming up the drive to the main doors of the school. There were two witches and a wizard, and Harry didn't recognise any of them. He saw Dumbledore appear and shake all the strangers' hands. He realised that these must be the representatives from the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic.

*** 

Dumbledore sat at his desk in his office, and on the other side of the desk sat the three members of the department of Mysteries. They had introduced themselves as Inspector Anastacia Semaphore, who was in charge of the investigation into Hermione's murder, Sergeant Beth Titus, one of Inspector Semaphore's colleagues, and Brad Dunst, a young wizard who was new to the department, and had come along to shadow Inspector Semaphore and Sergeant Titus. 

'This school is having a bad time lately.' Dumbledore sighed. 'What with this, and Cedric Diggory last year in the Tri-wizard Tournament.' 

'We will try our best to keep this away from the media and the papers.' Inspector Semaphore said. 

'Thank you for your time, all three of you. Hogwarts usually has a good reputation; I can't believe that _any of the students here would do anything like this.'_

'Well, when can we start questioning people?' 

'As soon as you like.' 

'Well, what we need to know is who Miss Granger was particularly close to, and whether she had any particular enemies.' 

'That's simple.' Dumbledore said. 'She was always with Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley. They're both Gryffindor fifth years.' 

'And enemies?' 

'Well, I know she had a grudge against Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin fifth year. She, Harry and Ron all hated him, and vice versa, but I can't believe he would kill her.' 

'He probably didn't. We have inspected the body of Miss Granger, and we know she was stabbed in the chest, and probably knocked against the wall of the compartment – her skull was fractured. I don't think that many of the fifth year students would have the strength to do that. Maybe a seventh year, or more likely an adult, but I don't think it was someone of Miss Granger's age.'


	3. The First Interviews

Harry and Ron were sitting at the back of their Transfiguration class the following day, not listening to a word Professor McGonagall was saying. Neither of them wanted to be there, having to listen to McGonagall, and learn things. Both of them were staring out of the window at the Whomping Willow, when there was a loud knock at the door of the classroom. 

'Enter!' McGonagall called.

The door opened and in came a tall witch with short auburn hair pulled up into a tight bun.  Harry recognised her as one of the three people who he had seen coming up to the school earlier. 

'I'm Inspector Semaphore, I was wondering whether I could borrow Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley for a minute?'

'Of course, of course.' McGonagall muttered, waving her hand at the door absent-mindedly. 'Off you go Potter, Weasley.' 

Harry and Ron got up from their desks, and followed Inspector Semaphore from the room. They were led to an empty classroom, which Ron was ushered into. 

'Please may you wait here, Mr. Weasley. I need to talk to you and Mr. Potter separately. My colleague, Trainee Constable Dunst, will look after you.'  

Ron noticed for the first time the young wizard sitting in the otherwise empty room. He couldn't have been much older than Bill, Ron's eldest brother. He was a short, round, cheerful looking man with hair of a similar colour to Inspector Semaphore's, but much messier. eH

Harry was led off to a different room, which had been set out a bit like a Muggle police interview room. There was a solitary table in the middle of the room, and all the other desks had been stacked against the walls. On one side of the table was one chair, and on the other side two. The other witch that Harry had seen from the Gryffindor common room already occupied one of these two chairs.

'This is Sergeant Titus, another of my colleagues.' Inspector Semaphore introduced Harry to Beth Titus. 

'No need to ask who you are!' Sergeant Titus joked, looking at Harry's trademark scar, round glasses and messy black hair. Sergeant Titus herself was a tall woman, with long black hair that was plaited down her back. She made Harry think of a female Professor Snape, only much more friendly. 

Inspector Semaphore told Harry to sit opposite Sergeant Titus, who she sat down next to. Harry did as he was told and faced the two witches. 

'I, Harry, am Inspector Anastacia Semaphore, in charge of the case of Miss Granger's murder. I have heard that you were quite close to Miss Granger. Is that true?' 

Harry nodded. 'Yes.' 

'How close?'

'We were good friends… very good friends. We had occasional fall-outs, but all friends do.'

'Would you say you were best friends?'

'Yes, I would. She and Ron were my best friends.' 

'Can you think of anyone who would want to kill her?'

'Not that I know off, she wasn't the most popular girl in the year, but she wasn't the least popular girl either. She didn't get on well with most of the Slytherins, but then again, neither do I, and none of them have ever tried to kill me!' 

'Did she have a boyfriend?'

'Not that I know of. She got quite friendly with Viktor Krum last year, but he's from Durmstrang.' 

'So he wasn't on the Hogwarts Express at the time of the murder?'

'No.' 

'Did Miss Granger have any particular enemies? I know you said that you can't think of anyone who would want to kill her, but was there anyone that particularly disliked her?' 

'Well, she never got on with Malfoy… sorry, Draco Malfoy, he's in Slytherin, our year. Neither do I, or Ron. Come to think about it, the last time he saw her before she died, he threatened to kill us all.'

'Us? Who else was there?'

'Um, well, there was me, Hermione, Ron, Fred, George and Ginny Weasley. I think that was it, yes, it was.' 

'And can you remember exactly what Mr. Malfoy said to you?'

'Um… I think it was something like, "You're dead, all of you, you're dead". I would never think he would go through with it though.' 

'Thank you, Mr. Potter. You can go back to your lessons now. Beth, could you go and get Mr. Weasley?' 

Both Beth Titus and Harry left the room. A minute later, Beth came back with Ron. Inspector Semaphore asked Ron the same questions as Harry, and got practically the same answers. Ron also mentioned Draco's death threat. 

After Ron had gone, Brad appeared. He was told what his two colleagues had found it. 'Shouldn't we talk to this Malfoy guy?' He asked when he had heard everything. 'I've heard about his father, nasty piece of work, used to be a Death-Eater during You-Know-Who's reign.'

'We can't judge the boy on his father's history. I agree that Harry and Ron's stories match perfectly, but I think we need to talk to the other people in the train compartment. Beth, can you go and find…' Anastacia looked down at her notes. 'Fred and George Weasley. Brad, can you get…' She looked at her notes again. 'Ginny Weasley. Can you bring her here; we'll talk to her first. Beth, take the others to the other room, then come here. And Brad, you can sit in on this one.' 

Beth and Brad left the room, and Anastacia flicked her wand in the direction of a stack of chairs by the wall. The top chair from the stack flew across the room and landed on the floor next to the two chairs on one side of the table. A minute or so later, Beth and Brad came back, along with a small, red-haired girl. 

Ginny was interviewed, as well as Fred and George, and they all said the same thing – Hermione was best friends with Ron and Harry, no-one would want to kill her, but she didn't get on with Draco Malfoy, who had threatened to kill all of them. 

'I think it's time we had a talk to this Mr. Malfoy.' Anastacia said once George, who had been interviewed last, had left the room. Beth and Brad nodded in agreement.


	4. And Just When You Thought Everything Had...

_A/N: Here's yet more of MOTHE! I'm guessing that people are beginning to come up with ideas and names as to who is the murderer. If you think you know who the murderer is, e-mail me or leave a review, and I'll keep a record. In the final part, I'll say how many 'votes' different people got, and you can see if the votes of the readers reflect who the murderer really is!_

Anastacia was walking through the corridors of Hogwarts, trying to track down Draco Malfoy, when she bumped into Ginny Weasley again. 

'Excuse me.' Ginny said quietly. 'Can I tell you something?' 

'Is it to do with Miss. Granger?' 

Ginny nodded. 'Please, it could be important!' 

'Alright.' Anastacia sighed; obviously Mr. Malfoy would have to wait. She was about to lead Ginny somewhere quieter when Professor McGonagall appeared out of the classroom they were standing by. 

'Miss Weasley, you're late. Come in here now, or I will take 5 points from Gryffindor… oh, sorry Inspector. I didn't realise you needed her.' McGonagall said, only noticing Anastacia half way through her speech. 

'Oh, don't worry. I'll come and find you later Ginny.' Anastacia said kindly. 'Go to your lessons now.' 

'But… but…' Ginny protested. 

'Miss. Weasley, come in here, _now!' _McGonagall said sternly, and Ginny hurried away before she lost any house points. 

Now that disturbance was over, Anastacia carried on towards the Charms corridor. Suddenly, a thought struck her _(A/N: Ow, it really hurts when that happens, LOL!) _as she walked along. This interview would be more formal than the previous ones: Draco Malfoy, unlike the people before, was a suspect. He should really have a responsible adult present with him. 

She carried on to the Charms corridor, and took Draco away from his lesson with Professor Flitwick. 'Who's your head of house?' Anastacia asked the blonde fifth year boy. 

'Professor Snape.' Draco replied, not sounding best pleased about being pulled out of a lesson to answer questions about the death of a "filthy mud-blood". 

'We need him to be present when we talk to you. Do you know where he would be?' 

'He'll be in the dungeons, in the Potions classroom.' Draco replied. 

'Right, follow me.' Anastacia said, and she led Draco into the dungeons. 'I'm Inspector Semaphore, by the way.' She said. 

'I worked that one out.' Draco drawled. Anastacia realised that this interview wasn't going to be easy; this boy obviously wouldn't be easily fooled. 

They reached the Potions classroom, and Anastacia knocked on the door. 'Enter.' A cold voice called. Anastacia opened the door to see a tall, black haired man with a hooked nose standing in the middle of a dark classroom. All around him were first year students who looked absolutely terrified, slaving away over cauldrons full of thick orange liquid. 

'Would it be at all possible if you could come with me for a minute, Professor?' Anastacia asked. 'We need to interview one of the members of your house, and an adult needs to be present.' 

Snape nodded, and moved towards the door. 'If you haven't finished adding the ingredients by the time I get back, detention. And keep silent!' Snape snapped at his class before leaving the room, and closing the door behind him. 'This really is most inconvenient.' He muttered. 

'I'm sorry, but we need a responsible adult present when we interview Mr. Malfoy here.' 

'What has he done?' Snape asked, eying Anastacia suspiciously. 

'We don't know if he's done anything yet, but we have to interview anyone who had any major dealings with Miss. Granger.' With that, Anastacia led Draco and Snape up and out of the dungeons, and back to her makeshift interview room, where Beth and Brad were waiting. 

Brad and Beth stood up when the three people entered. When Beth saw that there was a second interviewee, she quickly took out her wand and flicked a second chair over to the suspect side of the table. 

'These are my colleagues, Sergeant Beth Titus and Trainee Constable Brad Dunst. I am Inspector Semaphore, and we are all from the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. We are here to try and work out who murdered Miss Hermione Granger.' Anastacia waited for another rude comment from Draco, but he held his tongue in the presence of his house master. 

'Why do you need me?' Snape asked as he and Draco were invited to sit down. 

'We need to question Draco slightly more seriously than the others that we have interviewed. I thought it best that there was a responsible adult on hand, in case Mr. Malfoy feels that he is being unfairly questioned, or anything like that. As his house master, we thought you the best person to ask.'

'Very well, just ask him the questions. I have just left a bunch of entirely incompetent first years in my classroom.' 

'Mr. Malfoy, where were you at the time of Miss Hermione Granger's murder?' 

'I was a compartment with Crabbe…'

'Full names please.'

'Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. The other lot…'

'The other lot?'

'Harry Potter, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George Weasley and Hermione Granger had just put all sorts of spells on me, and I was trying to sort myself out. Then I heard a scream, and I found out that Granger was dead. So, as you can see, it wasn't me.' 

'We never said it was. So, you would say that you didn't get on well with Miss Granger?' 

'I hated her, but I wouldn't kill her.' 

'We have been told by everyone in Miss Granger's compartment that the last time they saw you before she died, you threatened to kill them.' 

Draco looked like he was deep in thought for a minute, then said. 'I remember, I was annoyed because of the spells they had put on me. It was an empty threat, I wouldn't kill anyone, I'm not that mean!' 

'Thank you, Mr. Malfoy, that's all we need to ask you for now, you may go. Please may you stay for a minute, Professor.' 

Draco got up and left, while Snape stayed in his chair. When Draco had gone, Anastacia turned back to him. 'From your experiences with Mr. Malfoy, do you think he's telling the truth?' 

'I would trust that boy with my life. He is the kind of person who would threaten his enemies with death, but I don't think he would actually go through with it.'

'I doubt you can tell us anything about Miss Granger that would shed some light on her murder?' Anastacia asked hopefully. 

Snape stayed quiet, it was obvious that he was thinking whether to say something or not. 

'Do you know something?' Beth asked. 

'Well… it's just that… I don't know if it has anything to do with it.' 

'Go on.'

'I spy for Dumbledore, on the Death Eaters, try and work out what He Who Must Not Be Named is up to, and give the information to Dumbledore. Well, it's a long story…'

'We're in no hurry.'

'Okay, well, there are several Death Eaters on the Hogwarts Board of Governors. Dumbledore knows, of course, I tell him. Any way, as part of Dumbledore's plan to find out what He Who Must Not Be Named is up to, he allows me to organise meetings for the "governor Death Eaters" at the school, so I can find out what's going on. At the last meeting, which was right at the end of the last term, Miss Granger accidentally stumbled across the room the meeting was being held it. One of the Death Eaters went and talked to her, and came back telling us that she would be no trouble. It could be related…' 

'Can you name the Death Eaters there?'

'Yes, let me think. There was Halliwell, Little…'

'First names?'

'Oh, right. Ronan Halliwell, Josh Little, Leonardo Rogers, um… oh, Ronnie Franklin, and Lucius Malfoy.'

'Malfoy? A relation to Draco?'

'Father.'

'And who went and talked to Miss Granger?'

'I wish I could tell you. You see, when everyone is cloaked and masked, they are impossible to tell apart. Only He Who Must Not Be Named can tell who all his followers are, even when they are cloaked and masked.' 

'But surely you would have recognised the voice of the one who talked to her.' 

'Not clearly, as I said everyone is masked. Everyone's voices are slightly muffled, it could have been any of them, sorry.' 

'Don't worry; you have been a great help. You may return to your class.'  Snape quickly left the room, leaving the three detectives in the empty room.

'Well, well, well.' Brad said. 'So she could have heard anything at that meeting. She was probably caught up in all kinds of bribery and blackmail.' 

'We need to talk to all the Death Eaters Professor Snape mentioned. They could give us important information.'

At that moment the door burst open, and in came Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall. They both looked very pale and flustered. _(A/N: Or, as Mr. Ball, my music teacher, would say, flusterpated!) _

'What's wrong?' Anastacia asked. 

'There's been… another murder.' McGonagall said, breathing heavily. They had obviously been running. 

'Who?' Beth asked, as all three of the detectives stood up. 

 'Ginny Weasley.'


	5. Two Prime Suspects

'Take us to her.' Anastacia ordered. Herself, Beth and Brad were led down a few corridors, until they found themselves in the same corridor that Anastacia had met up with Ginny in earlier. Ginny was lying on the ground, a pool of blood around her head and her skin ghostly white. Professor Snape was standing by her. 

'I thought you'd gone back to your class.' Beth said suspiciously. 

'I was _going _back to my class – but I have to go this way. I found her, and called Minerva.'

'I just happened to be walking back to my office, and found Severus taking Minerva from her lesson.' Dumbledore added. 

'Wasn't Ginny meant to be _in _your class?' Anastacia asked McGonagall.

'She was. She seemed very absent-minded and panicky, though, and then she suddenly had a kind of "panic attack". She just burst into tears and kept on saying, "I need to tell them, I need to tell them!" So I took her to hospital wing – Madame Pomfrey wasn't there, so I told her to wait. I went back up to the classroom, and then a few minutes later Severus runs into the room, saying that Miss Weasley was lying outside the classroom, dead.' 

'All right.' Anastacia said. 'Do what you will with her parents and the school, but the show's over now. Leave the body to us.'  

Dumbledore was the first to leave the corridor, muttering something about, 'bad impressions on the school' and 'how am I going to tell Molly and Arthur?' Snape went back down to his dungeon classroom, looking even paler than usual, and McGonagall eventually returned into her classroom. Anastacia, Beth and Brad heard her telling her class that 'all will be explained later.' 

Anastacia pulled her wand from the pocket of her robes, and levitated Ginny's body a few feet off the ground. They then took her to the hospital wing, where Dumbledore had told Madame Pomfrey to prepare a bed for Ginny's body. 

When the three detectives reached the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey was waiting for them. She looked like she'd been crying. Dumbledore had warned her before he had gone back to his office. 

'Please may we use one of your beds?' Anastacia asked. Poppy Pomfrey nodded, and ushered the three detectives into a curtained-off cubicle. Anastacia moved Ginny's body onto the bed, and Poppy left them to do what they needed to do.

Anastacia inspected Ginny's body closely, before turning to her colleagues. 'She was killed by a blow to the head. Her skull is completely shattered at the back of her head. Her murdered obviously came up behind her and hit her with something, hard.' 

'What do we do now?' Brad asked. 

'We talk to Madame Pomfrey.' Anastacia replied, leading Brad and Beth from the cubicle. Poppy Pomfrey was sitting at her small desk at the far end of the hospital wing. When she saw the three people coming towards her, she hurriedly stood up. 

'May we ask you some questions?' Anastacia asked. 

Poppy nodded, and with a wave of her wand pulled three extra seats up to her desk. They all sat down, and then Anastacia said, 'We were told that when Ginny was brought here, you weren't there. Is that true?' 

'I just popped out to get a glass of water.' Poppy replied defensively. 

'We are not blaming you, all we need to know is whether the facts we have are correct.' Beth said. 

'Miss Weasley was not here when I left the hospital wing, and she was not here when I returned. This is the first time I have seen her today.' 

'Thank you, that is all we need to know for now. One last thing – Miss Weasley was killed by a blow to the head. If she was killed here, the murder weapon could have quite possibly have been taken. Can you look out for anything that seems to have gone missing.' Anastacia said. Poppy nodded, and Anastacia, Beth and Brad left the hospital wing. 

*** 

'So, either McGonagall is lying and she never took Ginny to the hospital wing, or she had left it again by the time Madame Pomfrey returned.' Anastacia summed up the facts they knew. 

'Ginny could have left of her own will.' Beth added. 

'So she could have been murdered anywhere in the school. I think she was actually killed in the hospital wing – if she had been killed in a corridor, the nearest classes would probably have heard something. If she was murdered and then taken to where she was found, the murderer would confuse things for us, but it would also make everything make sense. So now we need to work out who could have possibly done this.'

'Most students would have been in classes, and no one can apparate inside Hogwarts. That makes it most likely to be a teacher… or a rogue student.' 

'Also, if we go back to the case of Miss Granger, only Hogwarts teachers can apparate onto the Hogwarts Express. So, unless we have some stowaway hiding somewhere in this castle, who came on the Hogwarts Express, it can only be a student or teacher.' 

'You think it's the same murderer for both girls?' Brad asked. 

'Most likely. Right, we still need to talk to the Death Eaters present at that meeting – they might give some useful information about the teachers or students here, even if they are not suspects themselves. Also, I want a list of any students who were out of class at the time of Miss Granger's murder.' Anastacia ordered. 'Brad, you do that. Beth, I want you to talk to the teachers – see who can't come up with evidence of where they were at the time of both murders. I'll start on the Death Eaters.' 

*** 

Anastacia was getting ready to go to the house of the first Death Eater on the list Severus Snape had given her – Ronan Halliwell, when Brad hurried up to her. 

'I've spoken to every teacher who was teaching at the time of Miss Weasley's murder. No one had any absent pupils, apart from Ginny herself.'

'Good, that limits it even more. It must be one of the members of staff.' Brad then handed her a list. 

'All the teachers who were teaching at the time of the murder.' 

Anastacia looked down the list. Nearly all the members of staff were there, all apart from McGonagall and Snape. Snape had found the body, and McGonagall had been the last to see Ginny alive. She had been out of the lesson when the murder most likely took place. 

'Professor Dumbledore doesn't teach.' Anastacia said, reaching the bottom of the list and seeing Dumbledore's name.

'He was in the grounds with Rubeus Hagrid, and as you saw he only appeared once Ginny was dead. He and Hagrid have exactly the same story.' 

'Fine. You'll make Sergeant at this rate, Brad.' Anastacia said, smiling at her young friend before going on her way again.

*** 

Brad had shown Beth the list of teachers and what they were doing at the time of the second murder, but she still needed to find out who couldn't be accounted for at the time of the second murder. 

Lessons had finished for the day, and all the teachers were congregated in the staff room after they had had dinner. They were all chatting about the day they had had, and especially Ginny's murder. A few days had now passed, but most of the school was still in shock. All the Weasley boys had been allowed home to be with their families, but Dumbledore was trying his best to keep the school running normally, without change. 

When Beth entered the room, the whole atmosphere changed into one of secrecy and suspicion. Beth knew that not all the teachers were 100% happy with the investigation; in their opinion it just distressed and confused everyone. Some of the teachers, though, had no problem with Beth, Anastacia and Brad. Surprisingly, one of those teachers was Snape – he had been perfectly friendly to all three of them since they had arrived, and had never showed much hostility, apart from the time he got taken out of his lesson when Draco was first interviewed. 

When the teachers had relaxed again after Beth's entrance, she began to flit among the groups, trying to establish where everyone was at the time of Hermione's murder. Eventually, she came to the conclusion that all the teachers had been waiting for the Hogwarts Express in the staff room, apart from Snape, McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout, who had been making the finishing touches to their house common rooms and dormitories, and Hagrid, who had gone down to Hogsmeade to greet the new first years. Flitwick, Sprout and Hagrid, though, were accounted for at the time of Ginny's murder, so the suspects were still Snape and McGonagall.


	6. The Death Eaters

Anastacia knocked on the door of the fourth Death Eater on her list – Ronnie Franklin. She had already been to the homes of Ronan Halliwell, Josh Little and Leonardo Rogers, but she had found out nothing new. They had all said the same thing – they had been at the meeting with the other Death Eaters, and this girl suddenly appeared at the door. She had apologised, saying that she had been looking for a different room, and had tried to leave. One of the other Death Eaters (so far, no one could tell which Death Eater it had been, and no one admitted to it being them) had gone after, and then come back, saying she wouldn't be a problem. 

The door opened, and a man stood before her. He was tall, with short blonde hair that was beginning to turn grey. He looked at the woman at his door with piercing brown eyes. 'Ronnie Franklin?' Anastacia asked.

'Yeah. Who are you?' He snapped. 

'I am Inspector Semaphore, from the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic.' She pulled an identity card from her robes. 'I am part of the investigation into the murders of Miss Hermione Granger and Miss Ginny Weasley. Please may I talk to you?' 

'You can talk, but I don't know who you're going on about.' Ronnie muttered, leading Anastacia into his house, and into the lounge. He waved a hand at one of the two sofas, gesturing that Anastacia should sit down. This she did, and Ronnie sat down opposite her. 

'Who d'you say's been murdered?' He asked. 

'Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley, both students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.'

'And why should I have anything to do with it?' Ronnie asked. 

'I want to make it quite clear, Mr. Franklin, that you are not a suspect, but you may be able to help us. I know you are on the school council, and I also know you are a Death Eater.' 

Ronnie looked very uncomfortable, and asked, 'How d'you know.' 

'I'm afraid I'm not allowed to tell you that, but if you help me then I will turn a blind eye to the fact that you are one.' Anastacia said. She'd said the same thing to Ronan, Josh and Leonardo, and it had worked perfectly. 'I know you were at a certain Death Eater meeting at Hogwarts when a student accidentally stumbled across you. I also know that one member of your group went out after her, and came back promising that she wouldn't be trouble. Now, that student was Hermione Granger, who was found dead on her way to Hogwarts on the 1st September. Do you know who went after her?' 

'I'm sorry, but I don't.' Ronnie said, much more politely than he had been at first, now he had the threat of being turned into the Ministry as a Death Eater. 'You can not tell people apart when they are cloaked and masked.' 

Anastacia sighed, the same story again. At least, she thought, if they _were _all telling the truth, Lucius Malfoy must have been the one that had talked to Hermione, as he was the only one who she had not seen yet. 

She suddenly noticed a picture on the table beside the sofa she was on. It was a photograph of a woman. She was standing on a beach, her hair was being blown all over the place, and she was waving enthusiastically. Anastacia recognised her from her time at Hogwarts – it was Professor McGonagall. She looked several years younger, but it was definitely her. 

'Who's this?' Anastacia asked Ronnie, pretending not to recognise the picture as she picked it up. 

'Oh, that's Minerva.' Ronnie replied. 'I'm surprised you don't recognise her; she works at Hogwarts.' 

'You're friends, then?' 

'She's my girlfriend – we've known each other since we were children. Yes, I know, we're a bit old for all this girlfriend/boyfriend business, but I've just never got around to asking her to marry me.'

'Oh,' Anastacia said, trying not to sound as if this could be very important information he was telling her. 'Well, thank you for your time; you've been most helpful. I'll see myself out.' Anastacia got up and left the house. 

This was yet another possible reason for McGonagall to kill the two girls – if Hermione had spilled the beans, Ronnie could have been sent to Azkaban, or killed. If he was her boyfriend, she wouldn't want that to happen. If she'd realised that Ginny knew about the Death Eaters (Ginny had had the panic attack in Minerva's class, and had been saying _'I need to tell them'_), then she wouldn't have wanted _her _getting Ronnie in trouble either. 

*** 

Anastacia stood at the entrance to the Malfoy mansion. It was a gigantic, old house, which looked like a stately home. She was at the gates, which were locked. A bell pull was beside them, which she pulled. A bell rang, and a house elf suddenly appeared from the side of the house, and scampered towards her. 

It asked Anastacia who she was and what she wanted, before opening the gates, and asking her to follow her. She was lead into the house, and into a large entrance hall. 

'Wait here, please.' The house elf squeaked before dashing off into the depths of the house. Anastacia looked around her. All around her, on all the walls, were portraits of all the Malfoys that had lived in the house. Underneath the pictures were shiny gold plaques, naming the person in the picture, and their date of birth and death. The newest one showed a nasty looking man, with small beady eyes, and shocking blonde hair. Underneath it said:

LUCIUS MALFOY

1966 – 

Next to that there was a gap, which was where Draco's picture would go when he came into his inheritance. There was definitely a resemblance between Draco and the man portrayed in the portrait, his father – the facial features, the look in his eyes, the hair. 

A man who had appeared in the hall distracted Anastacia from her studies. Anastacia knew it was Lucius Malfoy by the portrait – the artist had done a good job. 'Mr. Malfoy, I am Inspector Semaphore…' 

'Yes, I know.' Lucius interrupted. 'You'd best follow me.' 

Anastacia followed Lucius into a gigantic library, piled with books from "Animagi, A Simple Guide" to "Zanako And Other Spells". Lucius waved his wand, and two chairs flew into the centre of the room. 'Sit down.' He said, and they did. 

'I am here to investigate the murders of Miss Hermione Granger and Miss Ginny Weasley. I want to make it quite clear, Mr. Malfoy, that you are not a suspect, but you may be able to help us. I know you are on the school council, and I also know you are a Death Eater.' 

Lucius smirked, he seemed proud of the fact, and didn't seem at all uncomfortable like everyone else had. 'How do you know that?' He asked. 

'I'm afraid I'm not allowed to tell you, but if you help me I won't turn you in to the Ministry.' Anastacia replied. 'I know you were at a certain Death Eater meeting at Hogwarts when a student accidentally stumbled across you. I also know that one member of your group went out after her, and came back promising that she wouldn't be trouble. Now, that student was Hermione Granger, who was found dead on her way to Hogwarts on the 1st September. Do you know who went after her?' She repeated what she had said to Ronnie and the other Death Eaters.

'I did.' Lucius replied bluntly. 'I promised her I'd pay her 500 galleons each month for the rest of my life if she kept quiet, and as far as I know, she did.' 

'You are wrong. Before she died, she told Ginny Weasley, who is now also dead.'

Lucius looked shocked. 'I trusted her not to say anything… the stupid mudblood!'  

'Well, she won't be saying anything else now, and neither will Ginny – someone's made sure of that.'

'Do you have any suspects?' 

'Well, the only two people who were not accounted for at the time of Miss Weasley's murder were Professors Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall… and Madame Pomfrey.'

'Sounds like Severus.' Lucius muttered. 

'Pardon?' 

'He wouldn't like his job threatened by people finding out about him and his Death Eater… "side". If he thought those two girls knew something…' He trailed off. 

'Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. You have been a great help.'

*** 

Anastacia was sitting with Beth and Brad back at Hogwarts. 

'Snape and McGonagall couldn't be accounted for at the time of Hermione's murder, either.' Beth said. 

'Poppy?' 

'She was in the staff room with most of the other members of staff – it couldn't have been her. Anyway, could she apparate onto the train, she's not really a teacher.' Anastacia and Brad shrugged. 'Sprout, Flitwick and Hagrid can't be accounted for at the time of Hermione's murder, either, but they have alibis for Ginny's murder.' 

'Severus is afraid of losing his job, and McGonagall's boyfriend was at that Death Eater meeting, which puts them as even stronger suspects.' Anastacia added.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. 

'Come in!' Brad called. 

Poppy Pomfrey appeared in the doorway. 'I thought you'd like to know that a vase has gone missing from the hospital wing, it was there before Miss Weasley was… murdered.' 


	7. Secret Love

'So the murder weapon was the vase.' Anastacia said. 'It fits with the wound on Miss Weasley's head. Miss Granger was just knocked against the wall of the train compartment, there was no murder weapon involved.' 

Beth and Brad nodded in agreement. 'So, what do we do now?' Brad asked.

'I want to talk to McGonagall and Snape – see what they have to say. I want to know more about this McGonagall and Ronnie Franklin thing… and I want to see if Snape knew that Ginny had been told about the Death Eaters.'

'Right.' 

*** 

It was lunchtime at Hogwarts. Most of the students were in the Great Hall, eating, along with several members of staff. 

'She's not in there.' Brad said to his two female colleagues after looking at the staff table to see if he could find McGonagall. 

'We'll try the staff room.' Anastacia said, leading Beth and Brad back up the main staircase and along several corridors, until they appeared outside the staff room. Anastacia knocked on the door, and a few moments later the door was opened and Professor Molly Lewis, the school's fifth Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in as many years, stood before them. 

Professor Lewis, dressed in deep blue robes, was a kindly woman of average build with short brown curly hair and shining blue eyes. She beamed at the three people on the other side of the door. 'Looking for someone?' She asked. 

'Yes - Professor McGonagall. Is she in there?' 

'Yes she is, I'll just go and get her. Wait a tick.' Professor Lewis bustled off into the confines of the staff room, and the door closed behind her. A minute or two later Professor McGonagall opened the door and appeared before them. 

'You're looking for me?' She asked. 

'Yes, could you spare us a few minutes?' 

'Of course.' McGonagall replied, sounding friendly but looking somewhat uncomfortable all the same. 

Anastacia, Beth and Brad led Minerva McGonagall back along the corridors to their 'interview room', which they entered. McGonagall sat on one side of the table, while the three detectives sat facing her. 

'Ronnie Franklin. Mean anything to you?' Was all Anastacia said. 

McGonagall looked even more uncomfortable. 'Yes. We're friends… good friends.' 

'Is that all? It's just that I spoke to this said Mr. Franklin yesterday, and from what he said it sounds like you two are much more than _good friends._' 

'There's some romance.' McGonagall said stuffily, 'But I like to keep my work and private life separate.' 

'Do you know that Ronnie is a Death Eater?' 

A look of astonishment and anger passed over McGonagall's face. 'Yes, I know… but how do _you_ know?'  

'I'm afraid that's strictly confidential information… did you know about him being at a meeting held at this school at the end of last term…' 

'When Miss Granger accidentally stumbled across them, and was bribed by another member of the group.' McGonagall continued. 'Yes, I did.' 

'And you didn't even think to tell us!?' Anastacia asked, trying to hide the annoyance in her voice. 

'I… I didn't want to get Ronnie into trouble.' McGonagall said quietly. '_You _won't turn him into the Ministry, will you?' Her tone of voice had changed completely; she was now begging them. 'I'll do _anything, _just spare him! He is trying to leave You-Know-Who, but that's not an easy thing to do, you know.' 

'Luckily for you, and him, we have decided to turn a blind eye to the fact that he is a Death Eater, as he helped me when I questioned him.' Anastacia said. 'Now, is there anything else you can tell us which could be connected with the deaths of Miss Granger and Miss Weasley?' 

'Well…'

'Go on.' 

'Is this confidential… what I tell you, no one else will find out?' 

'That's correct.' 

'I helped Ronnie to get into the school a few weeks back… before Ginny was killed. We miss each other, you see, with me having to stay at the school during term time, and usually the Easter and Christmas holidays as well, so I promised he could come in… for the night, you know what I mean.' McGonagall looked slightly embarrassed about talking about her private life, but the three detectives smiled reassuringly. 'Well, after dinner that evening I got my invisibility cloak _(A/N: She has one, alright, don't argue with me!) _and went out to the school gates. Ronnie was waiting there, and I gave him the cloak. We went back up to the castle, and I led him to a deserted classroom down the transfiguration corridor – it hasn't been used for years, ever since it got vandalised by Peeves. Well, you don't need me to tell you what we did after that…' She looked even more embarrassed, but Anastacia, Beth and Brad gave her their reassuring smiles again, so she carried on. 'Me and Ronnie hadn't been in there 10 minutes when the door burst open, and a much younger couple entered the room; Miss Weasley and Mr Malfoy.' 

'Draco?' Anastacia asked, surprised. 'He didn't strike me as the romantic type.' 

'It was him alright, though I would have agreed with you. They were all over each other; it took them a moment to realise we were in there. When they did notice us, they looked extremely embarrassed and ran out. I just hope they don't get Ronnie into trouble…' 

'Thank you, Professor, you have been most helpful. You may go now.' 

'Can I have a word with you, Sergeant Titus?' McGonagall asked. 'In private.' Beth looked over to Anastacia and Brad. 'It's not to do with the investigations.' She added. 

Anastacia still looked suspicious of McGonagall's actions, but waved a hand at the door. 'Go on, Beth.' Beth nodded, and followed McGonagall out of the door. 

When they were out the room, and the door was closed behind them, McGonagall turned to Beth. 'This really isn't my place to say this, but his rambling is driving me insane.' She said.

'Pardon?' Beth asked, completely confused. 

'You know Severus, don't you? The Potions master?' 

'Yes…' Beth said, wondering whether she was about to discover some vital piece of information to do with the murders. 

'Well, he's been going on and on about… you.'

'_Me?' _

'Yes. Oh, he'd probably kill me if he found out I'd told you this, but Severus has got a bit of a 'thing' for you.' 

'A 'thing'?' 

'Yes, a 'thing', a 'crush', call it what you like. But, well, you've seen what he's like, he's a proud, arrogant man, I don't think he's ever really considered love outside his family… he doesn't know what to say to you…' 

Beth was blushing furiously by now. She had always been pretty, ever since she was a little girl, and she had never had any lack of male admirers. She'd lost count of the number of boyfriends she'd had, there had been a constant stream of them since her teenage years. The admirers had lessened as she grew older and joined the Ministry, but there still a few at the offices, at the pub after work, on the cases she worked on. She had been single for several years now, so to suddenly find that one of the main suspects in the murder case she was working on had eyes for her, and that she had secretly admired that person for a while herself, was slightly startling. 

'Are you single?' McGonagall asked suddenly. 'I don't mean any harm if you're not.' 

'No, no, it's alright, I _am_ single. I was just thinking…'

'Will you at least talk to him, I've never seen Severus like this before, not that it's a completely bad change… it's just not _him _to be so quiet and reserved.'

'I'll talk to him. I think we're supposed to be interviewing him this afternoon, anyway.' 

*** 

Beth and Brad hurried down the Hogwarts corridors. '5 minutes,' they had told Anastacia. '5 minutes, and they'd be back, ready to interview Snape', but Hogwarts had a habit of making people who were in a hurry lost. They had only gone to the toilets, but all the staircases had changed behind them. They had now been gone 10 minutes, and Anastacia was probably getting ready to murder them. 

They burst into their interview room to find that they had actually beaten Anastacia, who had gone to find Snape, back. They sat down in their allotted chairs, trying to get their breath back. They looked at each other, and then burst out laughing. 

They were both quite young – Brad was new to the Ministry, only in his early twenties, while Beth was reaching the end of her 20s, at 29. They always felt the need to be serious and sensible around Anastacia, who was a serious, sensible woman herself in her early fifties. 

Their laughter stopped as the door opened and Anastacia appeared, leading the Potions master. She sat down in her seat between Beth and Brad, and gestured for Snape to sit down opposite. Beth caught Snape's eye as he sat down, and smiled at him. He kept eye contact for a moment, before quickly looking away, the slightest bit of colour tinting his pale face. 

'Now, Professor.' Anastacia began. 'There are two main things I want to question you about. Firstly, did you ever think that Miss Granger had actually told someone else about her encounter with the Death Eaters?' 

Snape looked blank, so Brad prompted him, 'Miss Weasley, perhaps?' 

'Now you mention it, she has seemed slightly preoccupied since Miss Granger's murder.'

'Preoccupied?' 

'Restless… distant… making stupid mistakes with her ingredients. It crossed my mind once or twice that _perhaps _she knew something to do with the murder…' 

Anastacia nodded, showing that she was pleased with the answer he had given. 'Who would you say that Miss Weasley was most friendly with?' 

'She seems to be quite friendless in lessons… but otherwise _I _would say Potter and all the other Weasleys.' 

'Mr. Malfoy?' 

'_Definitely not! _She's a typical "anti-Slytherin" Gryffindor.' 

'Well, she put up a good front in that case.' 

'What do you mean?' 

'She has been seen, by a member of staff at this school, with Mr. Malfoy, in some rather… _romantic _situations…' 

'What? You mean that she was in _love_ with Draco Malfoy?' 

'That's _exactly _what we mean.' Snape looked genuinely shocked. He had always been a typical "anti-Gryffindor" Slytherin, and had tried to pass that attitude through the members of his house. He had had high expectations of Draco, one of his favourite students to pass through the school. 

'That's all we want to ask you, Professor. You may go.' Anastacia said. 

Snape nodded, and got up from his chair. 'Um… can _I _talk to you for a moment, in private?' Beth asked, seizing her chance. 

Snape eventually nodded, trying to calm his heart, which had just skipped several beats. Anastacia shot Beth a _'I hope you know what you're doing' _look – she had cast a listening charm on Beth and McGonagall's conversation earlier, and had given Beth a long lecture afterwards about how you must not get emotionally involved with the suspects. 

Eventually Anastacia got up, and she and Brad left the room, leaving Beth and Snape alone. 'This is nothing to do with the investigation…' Beth began, finding herself tongue-tied. 'Um… I was wondering whether you'd like to go for a drink at the Three Broomsticks sometime.' 

'…All right, then.' Snape replied, after a long pause. 'Tomorrow?' 

'Sure.' Beth said, and Snape left the room. Outside, he fell back against the wall, letting out a long breath. Tomorrow – it was then or never. He had to tell her his feelings tomorrow…

Beth stood in the middle of the empty room. Tomorrow – it was then or never. She had to tell him her feelings tomorrow…


	8. Love and Jealousy

When Anastacia, Beth and Brad had come to Hogwarts, they had been given quarters down in the dungeons. All the teachers, (apart from Hagrid and the four house mistresses/masters) had their quarters in the dungeons or on the top floor of the school, depending on their preference. The only exception was Professor Trelawney who, although she did have her own quarters, seemed to prefer staying in her heavily scented classroom. The house teachers had _their _quarters situated practically next to their respective house common rooms, so that they could get there if there was trouble. There were special listening charms cast between the common room and the house teacher's quarters, so they could hear if there was any trouble. 

Beth and Brad had gratefully accepted, but Anastacia preferred to go to her home every night, seeing as she and her husband lived in Hogsmeade. Beth and Brad's quarters consisted of two bedrooms, a bathroom and a small lounge (which was really nothing more than a room with two squashy armchairs and a fireplace. 

At this moment, Brad was standing in a corner of the bathroom, watching Beth with interest as she did her hair and make up. 

'He's a prime suspect, you know. Semaphore won't be happy.' Brad lectured. When they weren't in the presence of Anastacia, she was usually referred to as "Semaphore". 

'She hasn't got anything to be unhappy about… we're just going for a drink. I might be able to get something out of him.' Beth lied. Brad could tell this wasn't the truth, and laughed. 

'If you were "just going for a drink", then you wouldn't have spent the last…' Brad drew a small clock from the pocket of his robes. '…Three quarters of an hour.' 

'I'm female, Brad, we don't go anywhere unless we look decent.' 

'You looked _decent _an hour and three quarters ago! You're naturally beautiful, Beth, you don't need to worry!' Brad silently cursed himself for letting out his inner thoughts. Luckily, all Beth said was,

'Thank you for the compliment, Brad.' 

'So you're _sure _it's only a drink…' Brad pushed, trying to change the subject. 

'For the last time, _yes!' _Beth said, twirling around, her long black hair flying out behind her. 'Why are you so bothered, Brad?' A teasing smile played on her lips. 'Are you _jealous _of him.' 

'Of… of course not!' Brad stuttered, desperately trying to stop himself from blushing. 'Why… why should I… I be?' 

'Oh… I don't know. You're just being very protective, that's all.' 

'Well, you're a good friend. I don't want you getting into trouble at work, and…' 

'And?'

'Well, I care for you. You're a lovely, kind, beautiful woman, Beth, and perhaps I am slightly jealous of this Snape bloke.' 

Beth suddenly looked serious as the playful, teasing glint in her eyes faded. 'Oh, Brad, I never realised you felt that way…' She moved over to him, and took his hands in hers. Brad looked down at the floor, embarrassed. '_You_'re a lovely, kind, handsome _man, _but I don't think I could ever love you… you've been one of my best friends for too long. I'm sorry.' 

'Don't worry, I should never have mentioned it.' Brad said quietly, looking back up and straight into Beth's dark brown eyes. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. 

'Now, how do I look?' Beth asked, spinning around, the seriousness gone from her voice and her actions. 

'_Fine. _Stop worrying!' Brad laughed, forgetting, for the moment at least, the last minute or two. 

*** 

Beth felt slightly apprehensive as she stepped into The Three Broomsticks. She had arranged to meet Snape there. She looked around, and couldn't see him; she had beaten him there. She went and sat on a barstool by the bar, and started talking to Rosmerta. Shortly afterwards she felt someone tap her on the back. She turned to see Severus standing there. 

He somehow seemed different when he wasn't working or at his workplace. He was still wearing his customary black robes, but he didn't look so strict and dull. His eyes were alive, and his lips were curved into a kind smile rather than his usual scowl. 

'Shall I order us some drinks?' He asked. 

'No, I'll pay, really, I don't mind.' Beth replied, reaching for her back. Snape put a hand on her shoulder. 

'I insist.' He said, pulling some money from inside his robes, and handing it over to Rosmerta. '2 glasses of your finest wine.' He said. 

Rosmerta nodded, and turned her back on Beth and Severus to deal with the drinks. 'Shall we find a table?' Snape asked. 

Beth nodded, and they left the bar, and sat down in a corner. A minute or two later, a young barmaid brought over two glasses of red wine. They thanked her, and then began to talk. 

At first there were some uneasy pauses, but as the night wore on the two became friendlier. They were laughing and chatting as if they were old friends who hadn't seen each other for years. Eventually last orders were called at the bar, and Severus and Beth began to make their way back up to Hogwarts.

As they reached the front gates, Beth suddenly remembered why she had asked Severus to the Three Broomsticks in the first place. She abruptly stopped, pulling Severus back next to her. 

'Beth?' He asked. 'What is it?' 

Now Beth had stopped, she realised she had no idea what she should say. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. She found herself staring into Severus' dark brown, nearly black eyes, and the next thing she knew they were kissing. Severus' arms moved around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She was surprised, but she made no effort to pull away. Severus was also surprised, but he was also in ecstasy. He had dreamed of this moment since Beth had first turned up at Hogwarts, and he wasn't going to let the moment pass in a hurry. 

Eventually they did part, and Beth began to mumble apologies. Severus laid a finger on her lips to silence her. 'Don't apologise for making my dreams come true.'


End file.
